AvDrab No 2: Closing Scene
by Rescued
Summary: Edited from the previous drabble, which had some problems in it. Takes place before, during, and after the closing scene of 'Imprisoned.' You can guess which pairing is shipped. Tell me what you think!


Zuko, oneshot

. ...

I let a short burst of air out of my nose in aggravation, emitting a wisp of smoke along with it.

_He had been **right there**..._

I closed my eyes and started rubbing my temples, something I had been doing often. I gritted my teeth.

Why did everything end up like this? It's always the quintessential opportunity, and he always manages to get away. There was an _entire shipyard _full of highly qualified soldiers. And all of them combined couldn't manage to capture _one child_...

I let out a hiss.

"Every time I get close, He was so _close_..."

The man before me sniffed.

"Don't kill the messenger. That's just the report we've been given, sir."

Hands still on my head, I shot a lethal glare at the lower-ranking soldier, who immediately became subdued. He hung his head and cast his eyes downward.

"...Sir..." he repeated meekly for no reason.

I kept rubbing my temples and closed my eyes again.

"Tell the helmsman to head ..." I glanced down at the map on my desk, where I was sitting. I quickly calculated the coordinates of our destination.   
"...twelve miles to the northwest, then straight north for about four more miles. Tell him we're going to be making a quick stop."

"Yes, sir." 

I wrinkled my nose and rubbed my temples more fervently. Every time, every **time**...   
_It can never be _easy,_why can't it ever be easy?_

I glanced up only slightly but could still detect a figure blocking the light in the doorway. He was still standing there.

I felt heat rise from behind my eyes.

"**NOW!**" I roared, leaping up from my seat.

"Yes, sir!" the soldier yelped, quickly darting out of the room. He closed the metal door behind him, with a loud _clank_, leaving me in darkness. I sat back down slowly, laying my head in my arms tiredly. The disappearance of light made the room cool down.

... 

I licked my lip and raised an eyebrow as I walked onto the shipyard. One would think that the Fire Nation could provide suitable living quarters for even the lowliest earthbenders. There were brown sack-like cloths resting on the ground; dirty bowls and spoons lay in piles in the corners of the quarters.

_I suppose not,_ I thought, exhaling out of my nose.

I looked around at the chaos that had been wreaked on this level of the ship. Black dust and soot was blanketing everything, untidy lumps of coal scattered the ground. I let out a _psshh _noise in disgust.

I started examining the place, looking up and down, left and right, trying to replay what I heard had happened in my mind. It made sense.

Shaking my head slowly, I took a few steps towards the sides of the ship, but something on the ground gave off a light blue shimmer and it caught my eye. My head tilted slightly and my lips pursed as I walked over to where I had seen the light.

I stooped down and gently picked up in my fist what had caused the distracting flash.

Without even noticing it, my eyes widened and my lower lip trembled a little bit. The cold stone was smooth against my fingertips; I could feel the curvy indentations on my skin. I flipped my hand over so that my palm was facing me. I opened my hand and looked down on the turquoise pendant. The black ribbon it hung on fluttered slightly in the wind. 

All of a sudden, everything just...stopped. Any thoughts of the Avatar or my mission or escaped refugees or anything that had been troubling me now lurked in the back of my mind: they had been replaced with nothing but a strange, dark pink cloudiness that was unnerving and pleasant at the same time. I thought I felt my heart skip a beat, my arms felt limp. I could barely hear the ocean, and a lump rose in my throat. Something sparked within me in a way I could never describe.

I almost smiled. 

_She had been here._

I looked up and saw the fiery sunset painted over the horizon. Wind whispered the truth in my ear: _nothing, nothing, it's nothing._

A grimace haunted my face, and my old worries started to leak into my thoughts like dampness would into a house after the rain. But the cloudiness was not completely gone. I still had a moment or two of dreaming left to me. A crooked smile crept onto my mouth and I blinked. The skyline was quickly changing from a blazing red to a soft blossom pink.

_**She** had been here. . ._

Within a few minutes, the sky had become not red or pink, but a rich, royal blue. The stars were starting to come out, and a pale crescent moon hung low on the horizon. I breathed in deeply, savoring the crisp night air.

"Sir,"

With that one word I was brought back, crashing down into my reality. I had known it was going to happen...I had always known... but that didn't make my return to real life any more enjoyable.

I let my breath out, unfulfilled. I felt my brow resume it's usual furrow. I knew what the unknown soldier had meant by that one word.

I straightened up and walked rigidly towards where my ship was anchored. The dark thoughts had come home to their usual residence in the front of my mind... but I could still detect a wisp of pink cloudiness somewhere in there. Hiding within me, biding it's time, urging me to discover it.

I cast my eyes downward and a trace of a smile hovered around my mouth. It was very faint, though --- maybe it wasn't even visible. But I could feel it. I knew it was there.

I closed my eyes as I walked and all I could see was blue: dark blue, light blue, sky blue cerulean, azure, indigo, sapphire, aquamarine, cornflower and every other shade of blue, all arranged in a most wonderful spectrum. Goosebumps rose on my arms. The necklace was now as warm my hand. I opened my eyes slowly and looked down on the pendant again – the thin sliver of stone that I could see through my fingers glimmered in a last attempt to capture the reflection of any light still present. 

The wind danced over the back of my neck, sending shivers down my spine.

_**She **had been here..._

**Author's Notes**  
-Have you guessed my ship yet: D  
-Takes place before, during, and after the closing scene of Episode Six: "Imprisoned"  
I take requests for drabbles too, so if you'd like one, just tell me what you'd want it to be about and it can be dedicated to you!


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